Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Christmas Snowflake Gift Tags

I've been busy making gift tags! They're so pretty that I think you
could use them as ornaments on your tree - and I definitely can see the
appeal of that as they would pack away nice and flat!

Because I helped my friend Lynn out a teenie-weenie-little bit, she
gave me a fabulous gift of a Michaels gift card. I debated a few
avenues (which was exciting in of itself) and ultimately decided to
start investing in some die cuts for paper crafts. I had looked at
these die-cuts before, but they are quite a price and
all my Scottish heritage can come out when in a craft/retail
environment.
You definitely want to use your discount coupons and have a bit of a
strategy before you are tempted by the selection at Michaels. But oh
what fun, when you get it together!

For these gift tags I am using a large snowflake and circles in two
or three different sizes. This is a hang tag version of the gift tag, so
I've used a smaller circle on the back for lots of space for your
message. I tested writing on the back when there was raised emblishment
on the front, which I had some concern about, and no problemo.

To bring it all together and take it to the next level, I've added a
nice shiny gem stone in the center. I have a stash of those ...
doesn't everyone? To be honest, this was particularly exciting as I
wasn't sure before that I'd ever have cause to use all of my gem
collection. Note to self: it's okay now to get more!

So there we go ... total justification achieved for the foray into die
cuts. Have gems, have card stock, have embroidery floss, Christmas
papers and a big box of emblishments ... let's paper craft! So thank
you Lynn. Thank you for telling me to treat myself to something I
wouldn't normally. It was a lot of fun doing that, and the fun is just
beginning.

And thank you also to someone I've never met. I've barely seen the
tip of the iceberg in the online crafing world of blogs/etsy and etc,
but I find it inspirational and encouraging. Years ago I thought crafts
were all but dead, and it's wonderful to see such a vibrant
resurgance. The reason I'm into die cuts .... and own a double sided
tape machine ... and frequently crave Elizabeth Shaw choclate mints ...
is largely down to the fabulous creations of the Duchess of Fiddle Fart - check it out - she's amazing.

We should all remember ... sometimes you are noticed by - and influencing people - you don't even know. Keep crafting .. the world needs more magic ... and a little sparkle and glitter never goes amiss.